Microsoft is fully engaged with thinking about what I’ve called “Web 2.0.” They are focused on the internet as the platform, on software as a service, on creating rich experiences across multiple devices, on live update as a metaphor for both software and documents, on grassroots adoption as a result of user conversations. They are also very clearly focused on advertising as a new business model. We’re hearing all the Web 2.0 buzzwords: RSS, AJAX, social networking.

Windows Live.com

If you look at live.com you will see what looks like the start.com that came out of Microsoft a few months ago.

Also, they’ve said start.com will remain, but more as a “public sandbox” before they move things over to live.com.

Which means you’ll see the new stuff at start.com first, before it gets moved to live.com.

From the start.com blog [http://spaces.msn.com/members/startcom/Blog/cns!1pTNqgeSRxwfEFK-lp62aiFQ!480.entry]:
“start.com will continue to exist… start will be our incubation bed, where we’ll contine to try out ideas and if we see our users like something we’ll put it on live.com.”